Tea trails to the past
A walk up sloping trails flanked by velvety-green tea bushes dotted with bright red, orange, purple and yellow — the head-coverings of the humble pluckers — to summits shrouded in mist. Breathtaking vistas which may be leisurely viewed from an aircraft-shaped bungalow while sipping a steaming cuppa. It is a nostalgic walk into the distant [...]
Through the eyes of a pioneering forensic architect
Today, Prof.EyalWeizman will deliver the 18th Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust Lecture at the BMICH. It’s open to all, and you should go. From experience, I can tell you thatWeizman’s work is both provocative and significant. We met when the Israeli professor was a speaker at the Falling Walls conference in Berlin. The conference is held every [...]
A proud record of promoting women’s health
It is the most joyous moment in a woman’s life but it is also fraught with nerves and wracked by pain……..it is not only at this moment of childbirth but also throughout her life that they stand beside her, gently reassuring and supportive. They guide babies into the world and rejoice with the mothers when [...]
Nostalgic journey into colourful railway past
In time for the 150th anniversary of the day (August 1, 1867) when the first train steamed into Kandy, the National Trust of Sri Lanka has published “Ceylon Railway Heritage.” This magnificently produced book of 208 (A4 size) pages packed with rare photographs and full of fascinating, if arcane, facts, has been sponsored by the [...]
Second win for Thanapathy
Architect Thisara Thanapathy did it once again, bagging the Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture for the second time. Thanapathy won the 2016/2017 Award for his design of the Spa at Santani, a wellness resort located close to Kandy. He had previously won this prestigious award in 2011 for his design of the urban [...]
Women mathematicians –a struggle for recognition
Of all the scientific disciplines, mathematics suffers the worst gender imbalance of all, mostly due to the perception that boys are better than girls in mathematics. While this is not true, several studies have shown that negative stereotypes about girls’ abilities in mathematics can indeed measurably lower girls’ performance in this discipline. The classical formulation [...]
A difficult balancing act
Taking on The Taming of the Shrew is no mean feat because it is arguably Shakespeare’s most problematic play. Inherently a comedy, the play involves complicated gender politics with most critics still to this day trying to figure out whether it is misogynistic or not. The eponymous ‘shrew’ – Katherina (or Kate) – is widely [...]
Cinnamon Colomboscope: Focus on the environment
With a well-timed theme, a promising mix of local and international artistes and an exciting line-up of interactive events and installations, Cinnamon Colomboscope will return this September. Themed Re/Evolution, the festival will bring the ongoing environmental crisis under the spotlight, in the hope of using the arts to inspire new ways of thinking and living [...]
The importance of being earnest…and committed
Recently life has been a little marred with illness…that of the kind so many in our country are fighting and have been affected by. The kind that if left untreated or worse yet, mistreated, can have harrowing and even fatal results. Yes, Dengue has invaded every crevice, nook and cranny of our country and has [...]
‘BackstrEat’ by LC and RC UN Clubs on August 3
It’s a fun evening for the entire family on Thursday, August 3 at the Ladies’ College grounds, Colombo 7. There will be food stalls, games stalls with exciting prizes on offer, a horror house and live performances by popular artists such as Umariyah, Magicians’ Toolbox, Julius & Prince, Lunatics, and Shania Klyn, to name a [...]
AGM of the Alumni Association of Colombo Uni tomorrow
The 35th Annual General Meeting of the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo for 2017/2018 will be held on Monday, July 31 at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Graduate Studies within the College House premises, University of Colombo at 5.30 p.m. The meeting will be followed by fellowship and dinner. State Minister of [...]
Sittarunge Paradeesaya art exhibition today
Today, Sunday, July 30 is the final day of the maiden art exhibition of the Sittarunge Paradeesaya Group being held at the J.D.A. Perera Art Gallery. The Sittarunge Paradeesaya Group includes artists from all over Sri Lanka who have been associated with the Facebook Art Group, ‘Sittarunge Paradeesaya’. This is the first art exhibition organized [...]
Letters to the Editor
The vexed issue of ‘prescribed standards’ There were references to ‘Prescribed Standards for Medical Education’ in the media recently, particularly when discussing the issues regarding Malabe SAITM private medical school. Some persons in authority often stated that the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has not done anything regarding `Prescribed Standards’ in the past. This is [...]
Appreciations
A man of strong values, serene and unruffled DON BALDWIN KURUPPU I count myself fortunate to have been tutored by such an adorable teacher while I was at Ananda College. He epitomised the nobility that was intrinsic to teaching. After leaving Ananda College, he served both in government institutions and public enterprises as Personnel Manager [...]